THE mother of missing Madeleine McCann told yesterday how sickening false allegations by a former police chief caused anguish for her twins Sean and Amelie.

Kate McCann, 46, told a libel hearing in Portugal how Sean, now nine, heard Goncalo Amaral claim Madeleine was dead and her parents had hidden her body.

She said her son listened to the claim on the radio while travelling with classmates on the school bus.

“Sean asked me in October. He said ‘Mr Amaral said you hid Madeleine, didn’t he?’”

What’s in Mr Amaral’s book and the documentary is very distressing to adults. To a child it could be very, very damaging

Kate McCann

During 50 minutes of powerful testimony Kate told a judge in Lisbon she had responded to her son, telling him the former head of the investigation into Madeleine’s disappearance had said “a lot of silly things”.

The couple are suing Amaral, 56, for £1million over the claims he made in a book he wrote about the case.

Portuguese TV station TVI is also being sued over a documentary based on the book.

Yesterday former family doctor Kate and her heart consultant husband Gerry, 45, described in detail the pain and heartache they have suffered and the impact on Sean and Amelie of Amaral’s claims, which had left them “devastated and crushed”.

Kate said: “We had to liaise with Sean and Amelie’s school in case any child or parent says anything to them about what is in Mr Amaral’s book and documentary.

“They are at an age now where they are using computers in school and at home so we have had to carefully supervise.

“There are some things we can’t control, for example when Sean said that comment.

“What’s in Mr Amaral’s book and the documentary is very distressing to adults. To a child it could be very, very damaging.”

As she spoke Amaral – wearing jeans and an open-neck shirt – took notes, fiddled with his glasses and whispered to his lawyer.

Kate and Gerry say Amaral’s allegations have seriously hampered the global search for Madeleine, who was three years old when she vanished from the Algarve holiday resort of Praia da Luz in 2007.

The couple, from Rothley, Leics, are determined to stop Amaral making false allegations about their daughter’s disappearance.

Outside Lisbon’s Palace of Justice the couple said they fear their daughter’s kidnapper will “strike again” and Amaral’s claims have allowed this person to remain free.

Gerry and Kate were completely cleared of wrongdoing by the Portuguese police investigation. But Gerry said most Portuguese did not believe they were innocent because they had been “bombarded with people saying that Madeleine was dead, that we staged an abduction and hid her body”.

The couple earlier told the court there was no doubt Amaral’s claims had done “severe damage” to their struggle to find Madeleine.

Answering questions from judge Maria Emilia Castro, Kate revealed how she felt after reading his book, The Truth Of The Lie, published in 2008. “I was devastated,” she said. “It made me feel quite desperate because of the injustice I felt towards my daughter and our family as a whole. It was very painful to read.

“Mr Amaral insists that Madeleine is dead. He also essentially accused myself and my husband of being somehow involved in this, of faking an abduction.”

Kate said that if Portuguese people believed him “they would not look for Madeleine. They would not come forward with information”. She added: “It’s very distressing and upsetting. We need Portuguese people to help us find Madeleine.”

Kate said the TV documentary was “even worse than the book with regards to potential power and damage”.

Gerry told the court: “The book is shocking. It’s an affront to my wife, my family and all the people who believe in us.”

The court was adjourned for closing speeches in the case.

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